


In This Light

by headfirstfrhalos



Series: Sidewalk Sleepers [7]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Camping, Fluff, Gen, Happy, M/M, Stargazing, Tyler and josh go out camping and sleep out under the stars, happy happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 02:17:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6404629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/headfirstfrhalos/pseuds/headfirstfrhalos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night sky wasn't actually black, Tyler realized, but rather a deep, deep purple. The city was nothing but a pinprick on the horizon, small and bright like a fallen star.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In This Light

**Author's Note:**

> i read a really graphic gore fic ft. unhealthy relationships and it made me really anxious and upset and nauseaus so i wrote this to make myself feel better.

The heat was completely unbearable during the day, but the sun was kind and eventually left the sky, leaving the air warm and almost cozy. This, along with the fire, made the jackets and blankets they had brought with them unnecessary. 

The smoke kept the insects away as Tyler and Josh laid on a mat set over the crunchy grass, peacefully watching the dark, blank sky. But the night sky wasn't actually black, Tyler realized, but rather a deep, deep purple. The nearest city was nothing but a pinprick on the horizon, small and bright like a fallen star. Crickets trilled and owls sang. Normally, the darkness and isolation would scare Tyler, but none of it seemed threatening that night, what with the presence of the warm breeze, fire, and, of course, the presence of his best friend. The whole world around him felt like a hug. 

He turned to look at Josh. 

"Hey," he mumbled to his back, "you awake?"

"Yeah," Josh said, though Tyler could hear the tiredness in his voice. 

"Do your feet hurt? 'Cause mine do."

"No, 'cause I wore sneakers. I don't know why you thought wearing your Vans on a six-mile hike was a good idea."

"I felt it matched the whole 'nature' thing," Tyler protested. 

"Forest nymphs don't get sore feet."

"True. But whatever. It's so nice tonight."

Josh finally rolled over to face Tyler.

"It really is," Josh said, eyes trained on him. 

"Do you think we'll see some stars?" Tyler asked. 

Josh looked at the sky.

"Probably," he said, "it's a clear night and we're pretty far away from any city." 

Tyler turned his head up too, eyes roving as he searched the royal purple sky. He spotted a particularly bright one next to the moon. 

"There's one," he pointed. 

"I think that's actually Venus," Josh said. 

Tyler dropped his hand in disappointment.

"Oh. Dang it."

"Maybe there'll be more in an hour or so."

"I don't know if I can stay up that long," Tyler laughed, "I'm exhausted."

"Same."

The orchestra of crickets swelled when the two were quiet again, nearly drowning out the fire's crackles and pops as it burned. Josh looked at Tyler again.

"You know, I realized how rare this is. Like, it's not every night that the weather is as nice as this, and there are even fewer times when we get to be outside at the same time. It's been like, more than ten years since I've been camping."

He paused.

"Like, what if it's our last?" 

Tyler watched with dismay as Josh's face crumpled into a worried grimace. 

"Hey, hey. Josh, look at me," he said.

Josh looked at him.

"You know, there's always a chance that the worst could happen. And sometimes it does. But don't let it ruin what good you've got right now. I'm not gonna get hit by a meteorite. You're not gonna get drained dry by those mosquitoes. Whatever it is you're worried will take us away from each other, I promise it won't happen. You don't have to wor- are you crying?"

Josh _was_ crying. He dabbed the tears away with the back of his hand. A missed drop resting on his jutting cheekbone twinkled in the moonlight. Tyler wiped that one away as well. Josh sniffled once and said,

"I'm sorry, dude. You're totally right. But I can't help but worry, because honestly, it can't get any better than this. I'm gonna be let down eventually, I know it. But this moment is so perfect; the sky, the fire, the time we spent together, and you. I just wanna hold this forever somehow but I can't. You get it, right?"

Tyler scooted a few inches forward, extending his arms to wrap them around Josh's body, soft and warm as the world around them, and Josh returned the favor, burrowing his head into Tyler's shoulder.

"Of course I do, Josh. We'll always understand each other. We'll always listen to each other. And yeah, I really don't want this to ever end either."

Josh didn't respond, only staring at Tyler's face intently.

"What are you looking at?" Tyler asked, a smile creeping into his words.

"''M trying to... memorize your face in this light," he whispered. 

Gentle fingertips reached up to stroke Tyler's cheeks with reverence.

"You're just so perfect," Josh said as he continued to stroke him.

"And so are you," said Tyler. 

He brought his own hand up to Josh to touch him, his fingers wandering from the bridge of his nose to his pink lips to his jaw, where the beginnings of stubble were beginning to make themselves known, all the way down his soft neck to his chest. He applied the tiniest bit of pressure, and felt a steady thump. 

"I don't think you're going to forget this," Tyler said, "Even if you tried."

"Good," Josh said, brushing the pad of his thumb against Tyler's stupidly long, pretty eyelashes. 

"I love you," Josh continued, "It sounds really awkward to say, but it's something I want to tell you every day but it's never suited perfectly for the moment."

Tyler's hand moved away from his chest and onto his side, resting in the valley of his waist.

"Every moment is a good moment, Josh," he said. 

"Maybe."

"Yes," Tyler said. 

"Alright."

Josh's hand soon dropped from Tyler's face. His eyes fluttered and the light in them flickered like an old lightbulb as his consciousness sank into the warm, dusty earth. Tyler watched him go with a tender, full feeling inside his chest.

"I love you too," he said, though he knew Josh never heard.


End file.
